Koby Howard to miss ‘extended’ time as Penn State faces first true test against Wisconsin

After Penn State’s rout of Buffalo, head coach Matt Campbell was asked where his team is at ahead of its first Big Ten matchup of the season against Wisconsin.

“Not where we need to be,” Campbell said.

Although the Nittany Lions are No. 13 in the AP Poll and unbeaten after three lopsided nonconference wins, it remains unclear what they’re truly capable of. Though, conference play will answer that question.

Campbell said he split the season up for his team into four quarters. The first was from fall camp through the first three games of the year. The second starts Saturday against the Badgers (5 p.m., Peacock).

» READ MORE: Penn State starts hot, runs away with a 55-13 win over Buffalo

“It’s what you want to be a part of, is these special opportunities, starting this week, to play great teams, great coaches, great opponents, and what’s it going to take?” Campbell said Tuesday. “It’s going to take everything you learned from the first quarter of the season, and that starts with a great practice on Tuesday, and it continues to have a great practice on Wednesday if you want to be your best in the moments on Saturday.”

Penn State will be without its top offensive playmaker for the next few games Campbell said Wednesday that wide receiver Koby Howard will be out “for an extended period of time” with an undisclosed injury.

“Obviously, disappointing for Koby, but he’s handled it really well,” Campbell said. “I think the best interest of him going forward, making sure we do right by him and certainly our football team.”

Howard currently leads the Nittany Lions with 344 receiving yards and has three total touchdowns this season. He’s targeting to return for Penn State’s matchup at Michigan on Oct. 17.

Penn State is in a better position to handle an injury, as it has plenty of other weapons it can look to in Howard’s absence, including Iowa State transfer wide receivers Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen.

Eskildsen has been “dinged up” the last two weeks, Campbell said Tuesday, but he confirmed he’s back at full health ahead of Wisconsin. The junior’s speed is unmatched across the roster, which should provide a huge boost to the offense moving forward.

“Every opportunity he’s got, he’s made some dynamic things happen,” Campbell said.

Through three nonconference games, Penn State has five sacks, but only two of those came from its edge rushers.

It’ll be important for Penn State’s defensive line to succeed in rushing the passer this weekend at a higher clip, considering Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph’s dual-threat capabilities.

“I think growth will have to continue to happen,” Campbell said Tuesday. “You’re playing a dynamic playmaker and a guy that can make you pay with his feet really fast, and so I just think us continuing to grow forward. I don’t know if it’ll ever be just one [guy making an impact], and I think that’s a positive thing.”

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But the Nittany Lions’ are facing their toughest test yet in the trenches, as Wisconsin’s offensive line features bigger and experienced players compared to what Penn State has seen this year.

That includes Pope John Paul II graduate Kevin Heywood, a right tackle who missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL but has impressed so far in his return.

Campbell will see a few familiar faces on the opposite sideline at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, including running back Abu Sama III.

The senior spent the last three years at Iowa State, where he rushed for 732 yards and five touchdowns. Sama opted to not follow Campbell to Penn State and became the Badgers’ starting running back instead.

“Abu’s a good player,” Rocco Becht said Tuesday. “He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. But he does like to get to the outside. He gets east and west, and he tries to bounce it outside and get north quick, and so he’s a strong back. Going to be harder for us on the defensive side to bring him down.”

Becht said the defensive players who came over from the Cyclones have been relaying what they know about Sama to the defensive staff. It remains unclear, though, if Sama will actually suit up against his former coach, as he currently has the “questionable” tag on the Big Ten availability report.

“I’m excited to get on the field with him on Saturday,” said former Iowa State linebacker Kooper Ebel. “I’m sure we’ll see a lot of each other.”